“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
Since its original appearance in Walden, many people have tried to assign meaning to this enduring quote by Henry David Thoreau. Rightfully so: it’s an ambiguous yet powerful statement which has become more relevant to modern society as time passes.
In recent years, I believed the “lives of quiet desperation” referred to people unhappy with their current personal or professional situation and escaping it meant abruptly abandoning their lifestyle. To an extent, I still believe that perspective to be true. However, the more I’ve learned about Thoreau’s life and this quote, I realize its meaning is more ambiguous.
The Life of Henry David Thoreau
To better understand its ambiguity, let’s examine the life of Henry David Thoreau, or David Henry Thoreau as his birth certificate says. Thoreau grew up middle class in Concord, Massachusetts where his father owned a pencil-manufacturing business. He was an analytical, bright individual who would eventually attend Harvard.
However, at Harvard, it became apparent the “traditional” paths were of no interest to him. He moved back to Concord after graduation and began his search for a path which suited him. It was here he would meet fellow Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson, who he would move in with in 1841.
He lived with the Emerson family for three years before returning home. Upon his return, he worked for his father’s pencil manufacturing business. Here, his fantastic mind proved its worth as he engineered an improved version of the graphite pencil.
The opportunity now existed to grow this small enterprise into an empire, but yet again Thoreau wasn’t interested. It was after this apathetic choice Thoreau moved to Walden Pond in the summer of 1845. This transition would be the genesis of arguably the greatest work of American Transcendentalism – Walden.
Thoreau lived at Walden Pond for two years before returning to Emerson’s house, where he lived for another year before leaving in 1848. From this point forward, he dedicated his life to learning and writing about natural history. He found a career as a land surveyor, which perfectly combined his analytical prowess with his love of nature. Being a surveyor also gave him the necessary inspiration and space to continue writing. His death in 1862 saddened many, especially his mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson.
New Meaning Behind “The Life of Quiet Desperation”
The research needed to write this piece significantly altered my perspective on his iconic quote. Thoreau’s apathy confounded me. Why would an individual with such intellectual prowess and early success choose a spartan way of life? By that, I mean why wouldn’t he have leveraged the pencil manufacturing business to better position himself before choosing to pursue his true passion for natural history? Even Emerson stated Thoreau’s greatest downfall as a human was his lack of ambition:
I do not question Thoreau’s ambition, but I do understand why Emerson would hold this opinion. It’s easy to confuse what somebody is good at with what somebody wants to pursue. It’s logical you should pursue what you’re best at as it will likely lead you to the most financial success. In fact, our entire economic and education system is predicated on that assumption.
The Root of Desperation is Conflict
What happens, though, when what your genuine interest conflicts with what your current skill set allows you to pursue? That conflict is what I now believe underpins the “life of quiet desperation”.
It doesn’t sound like a dramatic leap from my initial interpretation, but it is. That leap is understanding there are infinite ways to avoid a life of quiet desperation.
It is not necessary for everybody to work for themselves, that is just the avenue I’m choosing to pursue. Some people can avoid desperation by picking up a new hobby or changing companies while maintaining the same role. The only condition required to avoid a life of quiet desperation is the freedom to pursue your genuine interests.
A Holistic Lifestyle – Avoiding the Life of Quiet Desperation
This condition, however, can be difficult to meet. Modern schools of thought such as “Hustle Culture” encourage dissolving any action not directly correlated to financial gain including biological necessities such as sleep. I do not agree with these schools of thought, but I also don’t agree with the modern interpretation of “balance”.
My belief is that success comes from developing a holistic lifestyle. When you develop this lifestyle, you see the world through the lens of your genuine interests. As a result, everything directly or indirectly related to said interests compounds and you’ll eventually achieve a genuine existence. Thoreau’s later years provide us with a sound blueprint for how to create such an existence.
Thoreau’s Blueprint
After leaving the Emerson’s in 1848, Thoreau needed to find a career which leveraged his analytical prowess and love for nature. Luckily for him, land surveying met both these criteria.
The process is rarely this simple, however, and it will likely take you several years to precisely identify your interests and skillsets. Most people will not go through this process. And for that reason, they will forever be trapped in the life of quiet desperation.
If you are to avoid this life of quiet desperation, start by being objective about your interests and skills. From there, continue to delimit yourself by expanding your sources of knowledge. Once you realize there are few limits, opportunities will begin to appear everywhere.
Unfortunately, those are the only guidelines. It will be incumbent on you to formulate the rest of them…
Be More.
Become Polymathic.
Quote of the Week: “I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau